D.C. Parents Fight Win Right to Educate as They Choose

Your Email:

Your Name:

To:

Subject:

Message:
BY Marge Fenelon WASHINGTON — When President Bush signed into law the D.C. School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 on Jan. 23, Barbara Mickens rejoiced. Mickens' 15-year-old daughter, Ashley, attends Bishop McNamara High School and her 6-year-old son, Samuel, attends Holy Name School, both in D.C. central city. To Mickens, the law represented 10 years of dedication and hard work for the cause of school choice. The legislation, part of H.R. 2673, the Consolidation Appropriations Act of 2004 (popularly known as the “omnibus budget”) authorizes a five-year pilot program to provide $13 million for opportunity scholarships for low-income elementary and high-school students in the District of Columbia to attend nonpublic schools in 2004. An additional $1 million was authorized to administer the new scholarship program. As a kid, Mickens disliked public school. When she had children of her own, she vowed they would never attend a public school as long as she lived. She chose to send her children to Catholic schools because of their reputation for high standards in both academics and Christian values. According to Mickens, 99% of Catholic high school graduates go on to college. “When my children go to school, they're in a safe, Christian environment,” she said. “We have no metal detectors, no guns, no incidents with drugs and no security guards at our [Catholic] schools. When you walk down our halls, it's quiet and you just know that there's learning going on. That should tell you something.” Her daughter, Ashley, maintains a high grade point average and can attest to the quality of the education she receives. “If I weren't going to a Catholic school,” Ashley said, “I don't believe I would be doing as well as I am now.” While stumping for school vouchers during a January address to the National Catholic Educational Association, Bush highlighted the importance of Catholic-school education. “Catholic schools have a proven record of bringing out the best in every child, regardless of their background. And every school in America should live up to that standard,” he said. “We want our public schools to live up to the standard you have set in Catholic schools.” Fight for Choice To attain a Catholic education for her children, Mickens has spent the past decade searching the Internet and countless other resources — sometimes until 3 a.m. — for scholarship opportunities, filling out applications and seeking whatever other financial aid was available so she could give her children a Catholic education in spite of her low-income status. “I'm a productive citizen,” she said. “I pay taxes. And yet I don't have a choice as to where my kids go to school? That's ridiculous.” Mickens feels so strongly about this issue that she's taken up the cause as a mission not only for the sake of her own children but also for the sake of all children, especially those who come from low-income families. That's why she's joined the ranks of D.C. Parents for School Choice and the Parent Council for the Washington, D.C., Scholarship Fund, an organization that raises funds to send low-income children to private and parochial schools. As part of these advocacy groups, she's lobbied, picketed, petitioned and given public speeches, including to U.S. congressmen. Mickens is proud, she said, to have been part of history in getting the bill passed. “This bill was passed because we just kept pushing for years, knocking on the doors of senators and congressmen, walking halls holding signs and gathering signatures on petitions,” she said. Mickens' activism has earned her the nickname “Queen of Scholarships” and has drawn the attention of public officials, including the president himself. A few months ago, she received a call from the White House requesting her presence at a press event at Kipp D.C. Academy regarding the voucher legislation. In a private audience with the president before the event, she told him that low income doesn't warrant low priority; parents with limited financial resources want a good education for their children as much as any other parents. “We want the best for our children, for all children,” she said. “The children of our country should receive the education they deserve so they can be empowered to become leaders.” For the Whole Family Charlene Hursey is principal of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School located in Ward 8, one of the poorest sectors of the city. Exactly how the new legislation will impact her school and what its implementation will look like on a practical level is mere speculation at this point. However, she's optimistic the results will be positive, allowing more children in the immediate area to attend the school. “We educate wholistically,” she said. “We care for the spiritual, academic, social and mental aspects of each child, giving them what they can't get in a public facility. We teach as Christ did, and that means helping not only the child but also the whole family.” Principal Dr. Thomas Simpson of Nativity Catholic Academy expects increased enrollments but says the real implications could go much deeper. An increase in enrollments means an increase in resources available to raise the quality of education at his school even higher. “The process of education is never perfected,” he said. “It's always evolving, with new methods and techniques, and each year it gets even better. The voucher plan will allow us to offer parents diversity in education for their children.” There are 1,228 seats available in the D.C. Catholic schools for the 2004-2005 school year and each student could receive up to $7,500 per year for tuition, fees and transportation expenses. The amount will be determined according to family income. It has not yet been determined who will administer the program. “The commitment of Catholic education in Washington, D.C., is more than 100 years old,” said Patricia Weitzel-O'Neill, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington. “We've worked very hard to develop a program that contains academic, financial and social services that really focus on the specific needs of the children we serve, most of whom live in very poor neighborhoods. “We've been seeing great success and the voucher legislation can only increase that success.” Marge Fenelon writes from Cudahy, Wisconsin. http://www.ncregister.com/info/email-a-friend/day_care_dangers